David Birchmore
I’ve been where you are.
Twenty years in healthcare. A good salary, interesting work, international travel. And a growing sense that staying was going to take more from me than leaving would.
I started as a radiographer and spent the next two decades moving through clinical systems, medical technology and international roles, training teams and working for some of the biggest healthcare companies in the world.
From the outside it looked fine. Good money, interesting work, planes and hotels. From the inside I felt stuck. Not dramatically. Just the slow, accumulating kind of stuck that healthcare professionals are very good at explaining away.
The breaking point
After one particularly brutal contract, I walked away. No backup plan. No safety net. Just the knowledge that staying was worse than going.
It still took a few more years to actually have my last shift.
That gap, between the decision and the move, is where most people live. And it’s longer than it needs to be.
The rebuild
After COVID, my wife and I started a cleaning business. It was a stopgap, an entry point into running something of my own. It grew faster than expected. But cleaning was never the end goal.
What I kept coming back to was the people I’d left behind. Healthcare professionals in the same position I’d been in: capable, experienced, running out of reasons to stay, and with no real picture of what else was possible.
That’s what Via Nova is. A structured process for working out what you have to offer, what you can afford, and what the plan looks like. Built on the framework I wish I’d had.
Today
I work with healthcare professionals who are serious about making a move. I’ve helped clients acquire businesses, launch consultancies, change careers, and leave roles that were draining them.
My goal is to help 1,000 healthcare professionals do the same. That number matters to me. I didn’t pick it for a website.
David Birchmore, Via Nova
The mission
You don’t have to stay stuck. It’s hard, but it is possible.
Most healthcare professionals who want to leave don’t need more courage. They need a clearer picture of what’s actually viable, and someone who has already done it to help them work out whether it holds up.
What I’m not
I’m not a life coach and I don’t describe myself as one. The word is overused and it undersells what this work is.
No motivation, no vision boards, no sessions that feel good in the moment and leave you with nothing to act on.
I won’t tell you to follow your passion or take a leap of faith. That’s not a plan.
What I am
Someone with two decades of healthcare experience who has made the move, worked out what holds up, and built a structured process around it.
I work with people who want a real plan with real numbers, not reassurance.
What you walk away with
A plan you can act on
- A clear read on the skills you already have and what they’re worth outside healthcare
- A picture of the working life you actually want, in enough detail to test it
- Real numbers on what you need to earn and how long you have
- A 90-day plan with the next move written down
If that’s what you’re after, the Exit Plan Workshop is the place to start.
Work with me
Ready to build the actual plan?
Six sessions, four written outcomes, and a 90-day plan you can act on. Start with a free intro call.
Book your free intro call30 minutes. No pitch. No obligation.